Dragonball Super - Dawn of Darkness
by Godzilla2000
Summary: A mysterious stranger appears during the Festival of Light, but does her presence herald the end of the world? It's up to Goku and his friends to unravel the mystery and once again defend the Earth from the Darkness.


A cool, brisk late afternoon Summer breeze rustled through the lush green leaves of carefully planted radish plants. The sounds of songbirds from the nearby forest echoed through the field to create an atmosphere of complete serenity. This tranquility was interrupted however by the shrill voice of an exasperated woman.

"Goku! Stop messing around and get the radish harvested or we're going to be late for Bulma's party!" Chi Chi yelled from the doorway of their modest home.

"But Chi Chi, I remember what you told me about time management. I figured if I were to use my Instant Transmission to get us there that would leave me plenty of time to train a little and harvest the radishes." Goku replied, standing at the edge of the radish field.

"Absolutely not! Normal people don't Instant Transmission and there are going to be a lot of normal people there! It would be totally embarrassing if we just popped into existence right before all of those reporters and cameras that will be there! We're trying to blend in with everyone else, not cause a scene!" Chi Chi scolded. "Goten! Go help your father get his work done so we can get ready."

"Can I go to the party with you and Dad? I promise I won't cause any trouble." Goten pleaded as he exited the dwelling.

"I told you already that this is a party for adults Goten. The answer is no. Bulma rented out the entire building for this and you can stay with Trunks and the other kids in the suite that Bulma designated as a nursery."

"Aw! But Mr. Buu and Lord Beerus are going to be there. They're going to eat all the food and we won't get anything that's left over." Goten complained.

"Is that what this is all about, food?" Chi Chi said with a sigh. "You're just like your father. Sometimes I can't tell the difference."

"Don't worry Goten. I can talk to Bulma and have her send some of the food up for you and Trunks." Goku said as he began retrieving the storage crates for the radishes.

"Really? I still wish I could go to that party though." Goten replied.

"It's not going to be as much fun as a Birthday party though. Your mom's making me wear a tuxedo because she said it's what all the guys there have to wear. I had to try it on today and it was itchy. I hated it."

"And you looked like a perfect gentleman for once." Chi Chi scolded again. "Now get these radishes picked. I'm getting ready for the party." Chi Chi said storming into the house.

"Come on Goten, let's get this done." Goku said tossing a large crate at Goten. He leaped into the air and caught it effortlessly with superhuman strength. Goku picked up two crates in each hand and positioned himseld a few feet away from the radish field. "Okay Goten, you start over there on the right side of the field and I'll start on the left. Ready?"

"Ready!" Goten said holding the crate over his head, squatting in the ready position to dash forward.

"Okay, here we go." Goku said as he lifted his right leg and stomped on the ground. The minor quake loosened up the radishes and caused them to pop out of the ground all at once. With light speed movements Goku and Goten caught each of the falling radishes in their crates as they dropped out of the sky, running up and down the rows in the field until they met at the center. "Did we miss any?" Goku inquired. No sooner had he finished speaking when he spotted one more radish falling from the sky. With the flick of his right arm he caught the last radish. "Well, that's all of them. Let's bring these back to the house and do a little training before we have to get ready for the party." Goku said with a wink.

"Okay Dad." Goten replied enthusiastically.

Satan City was all decked out in lanterns for their annual festival of light. As the sun went down all the lanterns lighting the streets and windows glittered like a thousand stars in the sky. For the week long celebration priests from several temples were tasked with releasing hundreds of lanterns into the sky. From Sunrise to Sunset there were vendors selling their wares everywhere, music was everywhere as well as street performers entertaining the revelers. Bulma knew that this would be the perfect time to throw a huge social gathering for the wealthy elite as well as her friends. The paparazzi were outside of the venue in force covering the event. Those who wanted to avoid all of the attention of the press had already arrived and occupied several of the rooms in the grand hotel that Bulma has rented out for the week. Bulma stood at the top of the ornate staircase of the ritzy hotel anxiously waiting for the arrival of Goku and his family. She had a bit of an emergency to deal with at that very moment and hoped that Goku could help her out. Vegeta was in an especially foul mood at the moment and clearing out the bar of its alcohol. She desperately hoped that Goku could distract her husband's mind away from his contempt for everyone in the ballroom before he did or said something to humiliate her at her own party. She had arranged for a driver to pick Goku and his family up but limo after limo had stopped to drop off their riders and still no Goku. For a brief moment her heart skipped a beat but then she saw that it was only Yamcha arriving to the party.

"Hey ladies." he said with a congratulatory wave as the flashbulbs went off all around him. "I'm here now and things are going to get exciting now." he announced with a cocky grin. As the reporters were talking about his meteoric return to the baseball diamond he soaked up all the flattery and attention as he walked towards Bulma. "Hiya Bulma. What's up?"

"Just waiting for Goku to get here. All the girls are inside." Bulma replied with a tiny hint of annoyance.

"Yeah, I'll see you inside then." Yamcha replied brushing off her reply and entering the building.

Bulma was relieved when the next limo that pulled up deposited Goku, Chi Chi and Goten in front of the paparazzi. Goku was looking a bit stunned as all the flash bulbs. A reporter asked him who he was. "My name's Son Goku and I grow vegetables on my farm." All of the paparazzi groaned in disappointment and walked away.

"I am so embarassed." Chi Chi said with mortification.

"What did I say?" Goku puzzled. "Oh hey Bulma!" Goku yelled as he saw Bulma approaching.

Bulma didn't even wait for them to get to the staircase as she bolted towards them, but in as calm a manner as she could, aware of all the photographers covering her party. "You are looking absolutely gorgeous Chi Chi. And just look at you in that tux Goku." she said in full ear distance of the paparazzi.

"I really hate wearing this thing. It's too tight and I can't fight in it." Goku complained.

"Oh Goku, you just never change." Bulma said self consciously chuckling as she put Goku's arm in a vice-like grip. She then spoke softly and desperately in his ear. "Goku, I need you to keep Vegeta company before he does something stupid. There are a lot of very rich, elite people here and I don't want him to cause a scene."

"You are asking Goku to stop Vegeta from causing a scene?" Chi Chi asked Bulma in disbelief.

"He's the best I have at the moment Chi Chi. My plan is that their little rivalry deflects Vegeta away from saying something to make any of my guests angry and leave." Bulma clarified as they made their way up the stairs and through the large double doors. "Goten, just go up those stairs to the right and Trunks is in the first room to the left."

"Got it." Goten said, wistfully looking at the ornate entrance to the grand ballroom before heading up the stairs.

Bulma dragged Goku and Chi Chi through the grand ballroom doors into the throng of well dressed people. "Chi Chi, you can keep me company. I'll introduce you to the rich and elite of Satan City. Vegeta is over there in the far corner sitting at the bar. Go have fun with my husband Goku."

"I'll try to figure out something Bulma, but I don't know." Goku remarked before heading where he was instructed to go.

Vegeta was absolutely miserable as he downed another stiff drink to cope with all the directionless banter going on around him. He could think of a thousand more productive things to do with his time than engage in superfluous small talk. What he hadn't been telling Bulma concerned the increasingly regular occurrences of dark, disturbing nightmares of shadows and death. His warrior instincts were telling him that these were premonitions, of the future maybe? All he knew was that he had to prepae himself, but for what? "Bartender, another drink!" he gruffly demanded.

"But...but sir, you've already had more than what I can legally serve." the bartender stammered.

"I am an elite Saiyan warrior. I can drink far more alcohol than you weak humans can and not become severely intoxicated so pour me another drink before I make you comply with my request by force." Vegeta snapped.

"Right away sir." the bartender said filling his glass shaking in fear.

"Hey there Vegeta. Bulma asked me to keep you company." Goku said a little too enthusiastically for Vegeta's liking.

Vegeta looked behind him to see his longtime rival standing there dressed in a tuxedo. "I see you were forced to wear one of those ridiculous outfits too."

"Yeah, I don't like it at all." Goku said trying to loosen up the collar of his shirt.

"I am the Prince of all Saiyans." Vegeta stated, his words starting to slur. He groaned as he steadied himself on the bar stool when he swung around to face Goku. He threw back the drink he just ordered. "All two of us...and here I am forced to wear this monkey suit and mingle with all these worthless high society robots when I should be training."

"I don't know Vegeta, they all look pretty human to me." Goku remarked genuinely confused.

"I really want to hit you for that remark Kakarot." Vegeta groaned.

"What did I say?" Goku replied even more confused.

Before Vegeta could say anything in response the crowd began to murmur in excitement as flashbulbs began popping all over the place.

"Now that your champ, Mr. Satan, is here this party can really get started!" the voice of Mr. Satan himself boomed throughout the ballroom.

"As if my night couldn't get any worse." Vegeta said in exasperation.

"Hey, let's just go get some fresh air." Goku suggested.

"Anything to get away from that hot air filled egomaniac." Vegeta replied angrily. "It was you and I that have saved the Earth, even the entire universe, on numerous occasions and that blow hard takes all the credit."

"Come on, let's just get out of here for awhile. I think one of these doors in the west part of this room leads to a courtyard."

"Fine, fine. Just go. Lead the way." Vegeta said getting up and following Goku.

After what seemed like ages of greeting his adoring public Mr. Satan finally made his way to the bar. "Hey bartender, give me the old Satan special will ya?" he said taking a seat on the stool Vegeta had just vacated.

"Buu hungry! Buu want food now! Buu promised lots of things to eat." Majin Buu stated impatiently.

"I know, I know. I'm keeping my promise Buu. You see that table over there, the big one with all the plates on it? That's a buffet and it has all the food you could ever want on it and once it's gone they bring more." Mr. Satan explained. "I'll just be right here enjoying my drinks."

"Ooooh, Buu try everything at this buffet." Buu said as he made his way over to the piles of food at the buffet.

The paparazzi were about to pack up their equipment for the night when two late arriving guests materialized out of nowhere. "Whoa, those are some great special effects there." one of the people in the crowd said. Everyone looked on in awe as the paparazzi hastily began filming the arrival of Whis and Lord Beerus to the party. A million flashbulbs went off in their faces blinding Beerus.

"Who are these people and what are they doing?" Beerus said shielding his eyes.

"I believe these are what Bulma and Vegeta told us are the Paparazzi." Whis clarified.

"How do we deal with them? Should I obliterate them for being such annoyances?"

"Oh no my lord. It would be quite bad for your public Image."

"Whis, I'm a God of Destruction. Obliteration is my image."

"They are just a minor annoyance my lord. Perhaps we should make our way to the party before all the food is gone at the buffet table." Whis replied as they headed for the staircase.

"No doubt that pink monstrosity is already here and has already cleaned out the buffet before its been refilled." Beerus noted picking up his pace as they alighted the stairs. "At least the food is going to be fresh."

"Of course my lord." Whis said as they entered the ballroom.

"You're late!" came the greeting of Bulma as she marched up to them.

"Ah yes, I do apologize on behalf of the both of us. You see we received an urgent message from the Omni King Zeno himself that couldn't wait." Whis said.

Beerus could already see from across the room that Majin Buu was already going through half the food on the buffet line. "At least we're here. If you'll excuse me I have more important things to attend to." Beerus dismissed himself, rushing off to the buffet table before Buu ate everything on his second pass.

"Priorities." Whis said with a shrug. "I was just wondering, have you noticed anyone out of the ordinary here among your guests?"

"When you say out of the ordinary you have to be a bit more specific." Bulma stated noting all the already unusual people in the room she called her friends.

"Ah, I see. Well then, specifically we were told that a...friend of the Omni King was sent here to Earth for their...vacation and we assumed something of this magnitude would be the place we might find them." Whis clarified. "We were unfortunately not given a description of this individual. But believe me when I tell you any...friend of the Omni King would be radiating with a different aura than everyone else in this room."

"In that case then no, I haven't noticed anyone like that at all." Bulma answered, now intrigued about who this friend of Zeno could be. But she couldn't abandon Chi Chi to satiate her own curiosity. "Sorry I couldn't be more helpful to you but I'm needed in the ladies' room."

"As I am needed to mediate over at the buffet table." Whis could see that Beerus and Buu were already getting into an altercation over who laid claim to a fresh batch of chicken wings, Mr. Satan proving to be of no help at all settling the matter. "Knowing any friend of Zeno who's on this planet at the same time Lord Beerus and I are here they will find us eventually." he added. "Lovely party Bulma." And with that he left Bulma to her duties with Chi Chi.

Before Bulma could enter the ladies' room she was intercepted by Yamcha right when she reached the door. "Oh, uh Yamcha. I need to help Chi Chi."

"Hey Bulma. Where's your husband?" he asked her just a little too aggressively.

"Well, you know Vegeta, he's off doing his own thing. I'm okay with it." Bulma replied as politely as she could.

"Look Bulma, I've been waiting all night for my moment to get you all alone to tell you something that's been on my mind a lot lately. I don't like the way that he treats you." Yamcha stated with seriousness through his sight enebriation.

"I appreciate the concern, but you know more than anything else that I'm a tough girl. I can handle whatever Vegeta dishes out quite well." Bulma replied.

"I really mean it Bulma. You should be treated better."

"You're a good friend Yamcha. Thanks for always looking out for me, but you're just a little drunk right now and it's making you just a bit too bold." Bulma said with a hint of lingering affection from when she was a lot younger and Yamcha seemed a lot cooler to her. She briefly touched Yamcha's arm before entering the ladies' room.

"Yeah...just a good friend." Yamcha muttered deflatedly before rejoining the party again, hitting on the hottest, youngest girls he could find in the room.

Goku didn't realize how much someone could empty out of their stomach until he witnessed Vegeta vomiting all over the courtyard rose bushes. The Saiyan Prince collapsed onto one of the carved stone benches close by exhausted from expelling the entire contents of his stomach. "So...do you think you're going to be okay for awhile? I kind of should get back to the party now. Beerus and Whis are here now and it looks I'm needed to stop the world from ending because Buu didn't let Beerus get a piece of Tiramisu." Goku said observing the fight between Beerus and Buu over a pile of egg rolls.

"What would give you the idea I can't take care of myself?" Vegeta questioned incredulously. "Just go already. And you can tell Bulma whether she likes it or not I refuse to keep mingling with those assinine guests of hers."

"Alright, you got it." Goku said shrugging before reentering the ballroom.

Finally Vegeta could get the solitude that he was craving to make sense of the nightmares that he had been having. He was so lost in thought that all external noises seemed to fade into a dull echo, as if he was using another sense, a sharper sense that heightened his spacial awareness. It was at that point that he began noticing that the glow of the lanterns floating in the sky and the stars in the sky started to fade, engulfed by a billowing black fog, just like in his nightmares. It was just like in his nightmares but he was still awake. The feeling that he was being observed by a dark, malevolent entity crept over him as a chill went up his spine. A sudden tingling shot up his back, like the feeling of sensing a strong power level that was close by. He quickly gasped for air, his surroundings going back to normal around him. He looked towards the ballroom noticing that no one there was producing the tingling sensation, not even Lord Beerus, but he was still feeling it. He had to go and investigate just who or what was producing all of that power. He knew that Bulma would be upset with him for ditching the party but this was far more important, especially if this was a serous threat to the safety of those he loved. He shrugged off his jacket, whipped off his tie and removed his shirt to free up hs arms just in case he had to fight. He threw them all on the bench and leaped over the gate of the courtyard out onto the city streets.

Yamcha had had quite a few more drinks at the bar and decided now was his moment to give Vegeta a piece of his mind concerning Bulma. By now the minor scuffle between Buu and Beerus over a tray of dumplings had turned into an all out wrestling match. Chi Chi was yelling at Goku to stop the fight and Bulma was fuming as she was grilling everyone concerning the location of her husband. Yamcha knew that he was last seen outside in the courtyard garden puking his guts out. He staggered out into the courtyard only to find the clothes that Vegeta had left behind and shed. Bulma had followed close behind Yamcha. "Oh no he just didn't. That's a rental tux!"

Vegeta leaving the party had not gone unnoticed by Whis who took that moment to stare in Bulma's and Yamcha's direction. "Hmmm..." He had a feeling if he and Beerus stuck around a bit longer they'd encounter that friend of the Omni King soon enough.

All those at the party weren't the only ones that had noticed Vegeta's absence. Goten and Trunks were standing on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, observing Vegeta's hasty exit. The original plan of sneaking into the party and stealing more food was quickly scrapped by Trunks when he saw his father leaving the party. "I wonder where my Dad's going?"

"But what about the food?" Goten asked in a worried tone of voice holding up the detailed layout of the ballroom drawn in crayon.

"Something's up Goten. My Dad wouldn't be doing something like this without a reason. Come on." Trunks answered before leaping into the sky.

"I am going to get into so much trouble with my mom." Goten groaned before following his friend.

Vegeta casually weaved through festival revelers as he followed the trail on foot not wanting to divert attention to himself. He discovered the tingling in his spine was strongest in the direction he sensed the power level the strongest. Before he knew it he had found himself walking down a dimly lit street bordering a small river of water. He was finding it odd that unlike the other streets that were brightly lit by lanterns during festival time, but there was a distinct lack of illumination here or any revelers celebrating. A penetrating gloom hung over the area the closer he got to a small bridge that stretched across the river. In the distance a large, temple loomed above a dingy, black gate bordering a deserted city landscape on the edge of town. Just looking at it gave Vegeta a sense of dread. Many wards of protection and magical inscriptions defending against evil spirits covered the outer walls. Out of the corner of his eyes Vegeta noticed something moving in the shadows of a nearby alley. He was stunned when the impact of a flying kick staggered him, leaving him dazed for a moment. He cursed himself as his intoxication limited his reaction time. As if the shadows were coming alive a figure in black followed its sneak attack with a flurry of jabs that he easily dodged and blocked. He retaliated with a strong jab in the stomach knocking the wind out of his opponent followed up with an elbow to the back of their head. He heard a feminine gasp as his blows impacted harshly. "Don't think because you're a girl that I'm going to take it easy on you." Vegeta informed as he gave the mystery female a roundhouse kick. With a furious grunt she ducked away from Vegeta and unsheathed two daggers from her belt. She began slashing angrily at Vegeta, missing him with each strike as he backstepped away from her. She advanced on him, pushing him closer towards the bridge. He looked behind him and backflipped onto the railing, slightly staggering off balance as his intoxication interrupted his balance again. His opponent did a somersault in the air and deftly landed on the railing as well. She slashed at Vegeta with her daggers again and he blocked each of her blows. She made the briefest of mistakes allowing him an opening to disarm at least one of her daggers, but she was able to connect with a slash to his stomach with the other dagger. In a rage he backhanded his attacker knocking her off the railing onto the center of the bridge. He leaped onto the other end of the bridge and grunted as he grabbed his stomach. Luckily he had only received a flesh would, but it still hurt. As the girl dragged herself up to her feet it gave him a good chance to size up his foe for a brief moment and recover from another bout of inebraited dizziness. A bizarre death mask mask covered her face, one half white, the other ebony. But what had surprised him the most was that she wore a Gi similar to the one Goku Black wore. "What is going on here? Who are you?" he demanded, all the activity causing him to lose his balance and become dizzy. He was in no shape for a long term fight.

"I am a servant of the darkness. The end of all light in the universe is near." she replied standing straight and brandishing her dagger. She leaped at Vegeta intent on skewering him, but midway in the air a flash of light lit up the area and a luminous figure seemed to materialize in between Vegeta and the dark figure, striking at her with a golden bladed glaive. The servant of darkness used her ability of flight to stop herself short balancing one foot on the edge of the glaive.

"Go back to your City of the Dead slave of the void. You have no power past your temple gates." a commanding female voice said as the light disappated to reveal a woman in red and gold armor, the hood of her white cloak obscuring her face. She lifted up her glaive and the masked female assasin backflipped to the other side of the bridge landing in a crouch with a hiss. She recovered her daggers, fiercely sheathing them then disappearing into the shadows again. The woman gave a sigh and relaxed herself, resting the hilt of her glaive at her side like a staff.

He didn't know if he had been seeing things due to his intoxicated state but he could swear the woman left standing on the bridge seemed to glow like a moon in a pitch black sky. He slowly walked over to her wondering where she came from. There was this air of familiarity about her, though he knew he couldn't have possibly met her at any point in the past. "That doesn't seem to be the sort of place that is into celebrating the Festival of Light. Have we met before?"

The figure turned slowly, gasping when she saw Vegeta, for a brief moment a gaze of shock shone in her eyes as though she was looking at a ghost. She quickly recovered to answer him. "I don't think that we've met, at least not here." the mystery woman said. She looked at the tear in his shirt and the minor cut to his abdomen. "You're hurt." she said rushing over to him. Her glaive levitated vertically as she let go of it to examine his wound.

Her touch sent a megawatt shock up and down his spine as the warmth of her touch on his skin burned like a thousand flames. Vegeta could deny the fact that he found her voice quite pleasing as well. He hadn't anticipated this strong a wave of intense attractionto wash over him. He had to muster up as much of his strength to resist all the temptations he was feeling at the moment. "It's just a minor cut." he blurted out. It was then that he noticed the glaive wasn't levitating but being held by a familiar looking prehensile tail. It caused him to step back in surprise. "You're a...Saiyan? How is this possible?"

"I was once a Saiyan warrior, but now I serve Lord Zeno. It was the Omni King who spared my life and I owe him a debt of gratitude and service in repayment." the female Saiyan replied, standing up. She removed the hood of her cloak and long, thick, brown Saiyan hair tumbled down her back. "How inconsiderate of me not to introduce myself. I am Vidahlia. And you must be...Prince Vegeta?"

"You're well informed." Vegeta marveled. He was finding it quite exciting to meet another Saiyan besides himself and Kakarot. "I came here because I detected a very strong power level and the trail lead me here. I'm hoping the trail I followed belonged to you."

"Hmmm..." Vidahlia replied gazing towards the ominous temple beyond the gates. "It could be possible. Don't you have a party you should be attending?"

"I do." Vegeta was thinking how he was going to explain all of this to Bulma but before he could formulate a good excuse in his head Trunks swooped out of the sky and came between him and Vidahlia causing her to step back. Vegeta quickly caught him in his hands by the waist preventing the kid from striking her with his fist.

"Stay away from my Dad!" Trunks yelled.

"What are you doing here boy?" Vegeta scolded.

"I came here to help you fight. She hurt you." Trunks replied.

"I tried to tell him this was a bad idea." Goten said sheepishly, blushing in shame.

"Don't be foolish Trunks. Vidahlia wasn't the one that attacked me. And it doesn't sound like a very smart thing to go in that City of the Dead to go find the one who did." Vegeta said dismissively.

"Did you say City of the Dead?" both Trunks and Goten said looking towards the ominous gates, trembling in fear.

"That's creepy." Goten added.

"Vidahlia, this is my son Trunks and that's Kakarot's youngest boy Goten." Vegeta hastily introduced. "Now we should be getting back to the hotel before anyone notices you're gone."

"If you don't mind I'll be tagging along with you just to make sure you get to your destination safely. The darkness is when the dead are at their highest power." Vidahlia informed.

"Really?" Goten cringed. He and Trunks both looked towards the gates and swore they saw shadows moving around, watching them.

"I'm gone." Trunks said bolting in the air heading in the direction of the hotel.

"Wait for me!" Goten pleaded in hot pursuit. Vegeta and Vidahlia followed close behind.

Judging by the absolutely devastated condition of the grand ballroom as Krillin entered he certainly was glad he missed Bulma's party since he was on duty that night. He didn't mind being the one to report to the scene after all of the chaos. "So, uh, Bulma...you're telling me all this damage to the premises was caused by a fight over a roast duck?" he asked jotting down notes in his crime scene notepad.

"For roast duck of this quality I'd destroy several planets to have it." Beerus replied gnawing on a drumstick still attached to the rest of the bird. One of his feet was braced against Majin Buu's face as he was trying to pry the bird from the pink glutton's hands.

"Buu saw duck first. This Buu's food now." Majin Buu said yanking at the rest of the bird, biting off the meat of the breast section and gulping it down.

"Forget about all this damage. I've already arranged to pay for all of the repair costs. The biggest crime here is what this will do to my reputation. Oh, and while you're at it how about taking a missing persons report for me concerning my husband Vegeta." Bulma groaned pitifully.

"All things considered, doesn't Vegeta do this all the time?" Krillin stated halting his scribbling and looking up from his pad. "I'm just here to file a report for my bosses and note that the conflict has been resolved amicably. Since Vegeta's an adult what he does is not a part of my job description. I can only get involved in missing child cases."

"Given Trunks' attitude give it some time Krillin." Yamcha quipped.

"Yamcha, don't you go making things worse!" Bulma snapped.

"No need to worry about me or Trunks." Vegeta said standing in the doorway to the grand ballroom. "I just took a walk to sober up and checked on Trunks who's in the nursery with the other kids."

With Vegeta's entrance Bulma's mood turned from depression and despair to relief, her Saiyan Prince in shining armor come to rescue her. "Vegeta where did you go? I missed you so much!" she said rushing over to him.

"Oh brother." Krillin sighed shaking his head. "Those two certainly have a strange relationship. Well, I have to get back to the staion and file this report." Krillin said exiting the ballroom.

As Bulma leaned in to put her arms around Vegeta she noticed the wound he had sustained. "You got into a drunken brawl, didn't you?" she snapped angrily, her mood changing in an instant. And then over his shoulder she noticed the strange woman that was standing behind him, the one with the long, spiky, Saiyan style hair and the long, white tail wrapped around her waist. She was dressed in a red and gold variation of the Saiyan armor Vegeta wore when he first came to Earth, but more elaborate. She seemed to radiate with an unusual aura just as Whis had told her a friend of Zeno would possess. She looked at Vegeta with a glare of suspicion. "And who is she?"

"Lord Beerus..." Whis scolded. "We are honored by your presence Lady Vidahlia." Whis greeted formally walking over to Vidahlia.

"I know, I know..." Beerus grunted as he was forced to relinquish his half of the roast duck over to a triumphant Majin Buu. "Thoroughly honored..." Beerus grumbled half heartedly.

"Never mind Lord Beerus' testy mood. Being the God of Destruction he and Lady Vidahlia are on opposite ends of the morality poles." Whis apologized. "This is Bulma my lady. Perhaps you can entertain our guest during her vacation time here on Earth?"

"Your husband Vegeta tells me that you are familiar with all the amusements here in this city. I would be glad to have you as my guide on your Earthly customs and fun." Vidahlia said, a brief trace of sadness edged her pleasant tone of voice, as though she was restraining an emotion deep inside.

"I suppose since Whis voluteered me I'd be happy to help you out." Bulma replied with a bit of suspicion. Vegeta's subtle demeanor around this strange, Saiyan woman did not go unnoticed.

"And I'm Goku." Goku said as if appearing out of nowhere. "I'm a friend of Zeno too. How's the little guy doing?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Kakarot, where are your manners?!" Vegeta scolded, smacking him on the back of the head. "Show some respect!"

"If you need a place to stay you can use one of the guest rooms in our suites on the third floor." Bulma offered. "I'm planning on taking the kids out tomorrow to see some of the things going on all across town. You are more than welcome to come with us."

"I will take you up on your offer Bulma. Thank you. I appreciate your generosity." Vidahlia replied.

"Well then, since there's no more food to eat and I'm long overdue for my nap I think we'll be going now. Whis?" Beerus interrupted as he made his way towards the exit.

"Of course. Until our next meeting mortals...Lady Vidahlia." Whis salutated, joining Beerus and following him outside.

Beerus waited until they were outside of the building before he quizzed his angelic assistent. "You suspect something, don't you Whis?"

"I do. No doubt you've noticed that her ladyship is Saiyan, yet she has been granted immortality and she also possesses specialized angelic type powers, abilities meant for dealing beings of another spacial dimension. All that power, but it's useless against mortals. Her presence here has me quite concerned." Whis replied, stopping at the top of the staircase that lead out onto the streets. "The Omni King does not grant these kinds of elite abilities to mortals unless there is a serious threat. How ironic that these omens should occur during this Festival of Light holiday here on Earth."

"I gathered the whole 'On Vacation' thing is all a cover for her actual purpose here. What are you proposing we do Whis?" Beerus said stroking his chin in thoughts of his own.

"I propose we do our own little investigation." Whis recommended. "I'd like to see exactly how Vegeta found Vidahlia. It won't take long at all."

"Fine, fine. As long as it's a quick time reversal let's just get it over with. I'm getting quite sleepy from all that food."

"As you command lord Beerus." Whis said calling forth a portal.

Bulma entered their luxury suite in the hotel happy to be in her room after her grueling night. "Seriously Vegeta, I am amazed that you weren't the one that totally screwed everything up tonight." she said throwing her diamond handbag on a chair and heading to the bed room to change out of her party clothes.

"I suppose it was lucky for you I decided to go for a walk." Vegeta replied following her.

"Speaking of that I really needed you there when Beerus and Buu were fighting over food." Bulma said a bit perturbed. "And exactly how did you get that nasty scratch? I'm not dumb and I know a broken beer bottle couldn't cause something like that." she added as Vegeta was removing his tank top. She got a good look at the wound on his abdomen.

"As you seem to have figured out, no, I did not get into a drunken brawl. But to go back a bit, when I left your party it was because I sensed a strong power level. It lead me straight to that new temple at the edge of town, that City of the Dead. That's where I fought a masked female dressed in black. She attacked me with her daggers and I must have misjudged her striking distance. My reflexes were a bit off from all the drinks I had at the bar and I got this wound from one of her slashes." Vegeta explained.

"Why did you fight her in that condition?" Bulma asked incredulously. "After all that you and Goku have been through, that would have been a stupid way to die." she added.

"It's not like I had a choice Bulma. That girl...she seemed to materialize out of the shadows. I was given no warning at all." he said changing into his pajama pants. He stood up and paused for a moment. "The strangest thing Bulma was that she wore a uniform similar to the one that Goku Black wore."

"Why didn't you tell Beerus and Whis this?"

"I don't know why. I'll tell them the next time I see them, hopefully tommorrow." Vegeta promised. "I have some suspicions that temple and that masked girl have everything to do with why this Lady Vidahlia is here. What does it all mean?" Vegeta replied sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know but we'll be ready for whatever happens. Let's just get some sleep. We'll be able to think a lot clearer in the morning." Bulma replied putting on her negligee, sliding underneath the covers and laying down.

Vegeta merely grunted in response and joined her. As he turned off the light and lay there in the darkness his mind began wandering. Before he knew it he was thinking of Vidahlia and a strong feeling of attraction washed over him like a wave crashing over his body. What made his emotions stir the most concerning the female Saiyan was that cloud of melancholy over her, as if she was wrestling with a lot of painful demons. But he quickly squelched his feelings of the temptation of knowing that she was in the adjoining room next to theirs. He made a promise to Bulma to be her lifetime mate and not even an attractive female Saiyan would make him break that promise.

Goku woke up from a deep sleep with the strange feeling that there was someone or something in his house besides himself, Chi Chi and Goten. He could hear bizarre, eerie whispering in his ear. A strange black missed was seeping into his room from underneath the door. Seeing that Chi Chi was still asleep he thought this was something that only he was able to see and hear. His curiosity persuaded him to investigate whatever it was that was creating the smoke as he quietly slid out of bed. He could see that the dark fog was thicker the closer he got to his front door. He opened it to see a dark, shadowy form dart away from the house and head towards the forest in the distance. He decided to follow it, feeling no fear. He had to admit whatever it was it was really fast, but he was able to catch up to it. He threw a strong punch at it to get its attention. He was surprised when his hand went right through its dark mass and was engulfed in shadows. His hand became as cold as if he had plunged it into ice cold water. He yelped as he held it close to his chest warming his fingers back up. "What are you?" Goku asked in a baffled voice. He was surprised when the shadows replied back.

"We are servants of the darkness." it said in an eerie, breathless groan. "The days of light are ending. Eternal night shall conquer this universe. All those who follow the false God Zeno shall be destroyed."

Goku looked up at the sky to see all of the stars disappear as an all encompassing gloom enveloped him. "I'm not about to allow that to happen." Goku said getting into the stance to charge up a Kamehameha.

"Foolish mortal." the shadows scoffed.

"KA...ME...HA...ME...HA!" Goku released his attack and the bright light from the Kamehameha seemed to elicit a reaction of revulsion in the mass of sentient shadows. They writhed as if in pain from the light his attack produced more thanb the actual impact of the blast. It hissed and growled before the black mass slithered away into the forest. The stars began to shine again in the sky as everything around Goku went back to normal.

"Goku, what are you doing out here so early in the morning?" the voice of Chi Chi echoed in his ear. "Why are you out training at this hour?" she demanded.

Goku had to admit that he was never happier to hear Chi Chi's nagging than he was at that moment. "I was just trying to get some practice in because I probably won't have the time after all the chores are done and we get back from that festival thingy." Goku lied with a goofy grin hoping that Chi Chi believed his excuse. He was not about to tell her about the shadows or their threats towards Zeno and those that believed in him.

"Well congratulations, you defeated the tree you were fighting." Chi Chi replied as a large tree fell down in front of them. "You can add chopping that up for firewood to your list of chores." she added yanking Goku's ear and leading him back to the house. "Come on you. Let's go back to bed."

"Ow...I'm coming Chi Chi." Goku whined having no choice but to follow her.

As sunlight streamed through the window of the suite he and Bulma occupied the bright rays of light that filtered through the gauze of the curtains made Vegeta's hangover ten times worse as his head was throbbing. Bulma was still in the bathroom taking a shower. Groggily he got out of bed, walked over to the bathroom door and began banging on it loudly. "Just how long do you need to stay in there woman? It's already been an hour!"

"Since I'm the one paying for this entire building I can take as long as I want." Bulma snapped through the door from the other side. "You can either wait for me to get done or you can go find an unoccupied room if you want a shower now."

"Of all the indignities, I am a prince of royal blood and taking orders rom a woman." he grumbled wrapping a robe around him. He gathered up all of his bathroom necessities from his suitcase, still grumbling to himself as he groggily mae his way over to the adjoining suite to use the bathroom there for his morning shower. Still complaining to himself he grabbed the door handle to the bathroom seeing that it was unlocked and opened it. What he saw next made him go wide eyed in shock and amazement. As he had entered Vidahlia was coming out of the shower, instinctually grabbing the closest towel and holding it in front of her. He sobered up rather quickly as all of the bath products in his hand dropped to the floor in front of him. She was practically glowing like a mid-day sun to him at that moment. "Ahhhh..." was all he was able to articulate at that moment.

The sound of Bulma's voice echoed through the hallway as Bulma entered at that same moment to see what was going on. "Vegeta, just what are you doing!?" she fumed. Vegeta temporarily lost all ability to speak and could only resort to pointing, grunts and hand gestures as a means of communication. "Having to keep Master Rishi away was hard enough but I didn't think you would have been the pervert here!" Bulma scolded.

"The lucky bastard!" Roshi's voice could be heard coming from outside in the hallway.

"I'm sure it was just an accident. I should have locked the door." Vidahlia said bailing Vegeta out of the trouble he was in. She was wearing the outfit Bulma had chosen so that she could better blend in with the crowd when they went sightseeing.

Miraculously Vegeta had regained the ability to speak. "It really was all an accident Bulma."

Bulma just sighed. "Well come on, let's just get done getting ready. We have to meet up with Chi Chi and her fam in an hour." Bulma said. "Let me see what I can do with your hair Vidahlia. And you look great in that Yukata."

"You really think so?" Vidahlia responded.

"Of course you look great." Vegeta butted in.

Vegeta's reassuring words kind of surprised Bulma. Not even she ever elicited that kind of response using the same question. "You really do. Just come with me and we'll put your hair up." Bulma said grabbing Vidahlia's arm and dragging her behind her leaving Vegeta behind to get ready.

Trunks was sitting on the steps of the hotel looking morose and unhappy. He didn't like the idea of that Saiyan woman coming with them to check out all the entertainment that was going on nor perusing the vendor's booths. And he knew why he didn't like having her around. He especially didn't like the way that his father was behaving around her the most. He might have been a kid but he saw the look his dad gave her and understood what it was. It was the same look he gave his mom every once in awhile. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Goten running up to greet his best friend followed by the rest of his family.

"Hi Trunks." Goten said cheerfully. He noticed the rather glum look on his friend's face. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy we're going to the festival stuff today?"

"I was util my mom told me that weird Saiyan lady was coming with us. I don't like her." Trunks replied. "My dad looks at her funny all the time."

"Aw, come on Trunks. Let's just have fun. Things can't be that bad." Goten replied. It was at that time that Yamcha came walking down the stairs to interrupt Trunks' introspection. "Are you coming with us Yamcha?" Goten asked.

"Indeed I am little squirt." Yamcha replied.

"Hey Yamcha. Where's Bulma and Vegeta?" Goku inquired walking up to Yamcha and the kids.

"Oh they'll be here in a few minutes. It's that Saiyan woman and her hair I guess."

"We can wait around for them. I'm in no hurry." Gohan chimed in.

Trunks' eyes narrowed as he grunted to himself. He just knew there was more going on between his parents than just that strange Saiyan lady's hair.

Vegeta was in the hallway of their floor nervously pacing, pausing every now andthen when his mind wandered back to Vidahlia and what he had seen this morning. But then he struggled to banish the image from his mind knowing that the two of them were going to show up any time and he had to resist the Saiyan woman's charms. His reactions to her presence bothered him. He didn't care if she was a servant of Zeno, he wanted some answers and right now. He began thinking of what he wanted to say to her, all the strongly posed questions that were on his mind. He hoped that he could get her alone away from Bulma without causing any suspicion on Bulma's part. She'd been acting funny all morning whenever he poked hs nose into the room where an army of hairdressers was working on Vidahlia's hair. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and clenching his fists, gathering up enough will power to confront Vidalia. He looked up only when he heard footsteps, seeing Bulma and Vidahlia walking towards him. He noticed that Vidahlia had a look of sadness in her eyes in spite of the smile on her face as she was listening to Bulma's pleasant conversation. He suddeny lost all of his nerve to confront her right then and there. "It took you two long enough." he growled.

"Well Saiyan hair is a lot different than human hair. It took ten hairdressers to get it looking like this." Bulma replied, showing off the messy updo that was piled on Vidahlia's head.

Vegeta had to admit the pile of hair with its whispy tendrils falling down here and there over her shoulders complimented her physical attractiveness paired with the blue and gold Yukata she wore. But he stiffened up his posture realizing that he was staring at her too long and he shook off his feelings of attraction towards her. He had chosen Bulma to be his mate and that was who he would be faithful to. "Come on, let's just get this over with." he said putting his arm around Bulma'a shoulders and leading them outside to join with the others.

While Bulma was browsing through the clothing racks and wares of the street vendors one by one Vegeta decided to take Goku aside and have a private chat with him about his nightmares and everything strange in general. And the intensity of last night's nightmare seemed to coincide with Vidahlia's sudden presence within his vicinity. "Kakarot, have you been noticing anything strange within the past twenty four hours since this Vidahlia showed up out of the blue?" Vegeta started the dialogue as he pulled Goku aside.

"Something did happen last night while I was sleeping. I followed this strange black fog into the woods near my home and the shadows began talking to me." Goku replied.

If Vegeta hadn't experienced the same phenomena himself at the party he would have thought that Goku was going crazy, but it was apparent to Vegeta that Goku was in contact with the exact same thing as he had seen with his own eyes. Or was it his mind that sensed this sinister fog? "You saw the same thing I did last night? It's the entire reason I left Bulma's party." Vegeta replied astounded. "Something strange is going on here Kakarot and it's not a good thing at all. I had followed a strong power level that brought me to the edge of town where this dark temple is. I had been attacked by this female in black who seemed to have come out of the shadows. It was Vidahlia who drove her off. She doesn't feel like she's evil but there is something odd about her. She has a secret, I just know it. For the safety of this planet I need to know what she's hiding."

"Whatever it is it makes her sad." Goku replied observing Bulma passing Bulla over to Vidahlia. He noticed her smile as she looked at the child as well as a brief hint of pain in her eyes as she held Bulla close to her. "Children know who evil people are sometimes Vegeta."

Vegeta couldn't help but notice how much his daughter enjoyed being held by Vidahlia as she cooed and laughed at her. "She just couldn't be associated with evil but we have to get to the bottom of this mystery Kakarot. I can just feel something big is about to happen. Vidahlia is powerful, can't you feel it? She's holding it all back but for what?"

"I can feel it too Vegeta." Goku replied. It was at that point he started hearing the strange whispers all around him again. "Uh, hey Gohan, can you come over here for just a moment?" he said trying not to sound too serious and alarm everyone.

"What is it Kakarot?" Vegeta asked.

"What's up Dad?" Gohan asked casually jining Goku and Vegeta.

"You know that whole mystic training you went through?" Goku replied.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Think you could use that mystic sense now?"

"What are you talking about Kakarot?" At that moment Vegeta was starting to hear the same disturbing otherworldly whispers as well. "Oh...I see."

"I'll give it a try." Gohan replied, concentrating to focus his mind on another plane of existence that overlapped with their own. Not only could he too hear the same whispers that Goku and Vegeta were hearing but he could see what was creating them as well. He saw the dark, luminous figures of the dead mingling with the living, but these weren't peaceful souls, these were angry souls that wished harm upon the living and it made him feel deep repulsion. "I can see them Dad, but no one else knows that they're here."

"Where are they coming from?" Goku asked.

"Over there." Gohan replied, gesturing towards a band of people dressed in white. At first they looked like they were the typical temple priests making their usual rounds among all the revelers, but then they started to preach words of doom and an endless night. "It seems like the angry dead I see are following them."

Vegeta glanced over at Bulma and the others to see that their attentions had been diverted to the strange band of white clad priests coming their way. To his amazement he noticed that Vidahlia's look of melancholy disappeared the momemt her gaze fell upon the doom prophets, replaced by a look of defiance.

"Celebrate the light while you still can." the voice of a woman spoke loudly and clearly as the group got closer. A few jeers came from a few people in the crowd having a good time and browsing the wares. That didn't deter the priestess from relaying her message. "Eternale darkness shall be upon the Earth and you will all tremble with fear at the feet of your immortal master." she continued preaching. "Remember that it was we, the ones you are mocking, who warned you of your impending doom." she continued as she and her followers walked into the market square.

Vidahlia held Bulla close to her, comforting the child as the woman and her cult came closer to them still preaching about their impending death and destruction. Her eyes met with the gaze of the priestess of this strange cult and the gaze in the priestess' eyes recognized her. "Take your foul preaching back to your temple od the dead where it belongs, servant of darkness." Vidahlia said without fear.

"Ah, you are a brave one who fears not the darkness." the priestess said with an evil grin. "I can see that you have faced the death of all light in the universe before and remembered."

"I will not ask you again. Go back to your blasphemous shrine to the angry souls of the damned now." Vidhalia said with even more firmness.

"Yeah, who do you think you are scaring all the kids like that anyway." Chi Chi said backing up Vidahlia's command.

The priestess laughed unshaken by what she had been told. "We will go but our message has been delivered. Mark my words, before the end of your pitiful celebration you will bow before your true God and master as the shadows consume your sun and turn the sky black as night." she stated with a voice of arrogance. "You have been forewarned." she added before disappearing into the crowd along with her followers.

Bulma didn't want to admit it but that priestess put a chill in her body that went straight to her bones. "Who were those people?" she said out loud. "I want to say that she's crazy but fir some reason I feel like she's telling the truth."

"Hey, don't worry about them Bulma." Yamcha said dismissively. "Let's just get back to having a good time."

"Kakarot, we are going to have ourselves a good time away from all these ladies." Vegeta spoke up, surprising Bulma with hi declaration of having fun. That was just not something he usually announced.

"We are?" Goku said scratching his head in confusion.

"Yes Kakarot, we are." Vegeta said a bit more aggressively and insistently. "Bring that boy of yours with you as well."

"Gohan or Goten?" Goku asked still a bit confused.

"Yes, Gohan." Vegeta replied getting annoyed with Goku's incompetence.

"Hey, what about me?" Yamcha interrupted.

"Did you not hear me when I said away from all these ladies?" Vegeta remarked with a grunt.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Chi Chi demanded. "You can't just leave us here all alone."

"It's alright Chi Chi. You're more than safe here with us. Let Vegeta and the others do their own thing for awhile." Vidahlia said. It was as if she was covering for Vegeta, Goku and Gohan because she knew what they were up to. "I'm sure we ladies can handle ourselves away from the other men for awhile."

"I guess you're right. It's not like I haven't had Goku ditch me before." Chi Chi relented.

The thought of kissing Vidahlia for her help flashed across Vegeta's mind but he quickly forced himself to banish the image of pressing his lips against hers from his mind. "Right then. Come on Kakarot and Gohan.

"Hey, wait up Vegeta." Goku said running after Vegeta and Gohan to catch up to them.

They were so intensely focused on following that small group of cult members that they never noticed the flash of a billowing white cape above them. "Now where could they be going to?" a familiar deep voice mumbled to himself before following them from high above in the air.

"So this is the place you went during the party?" Goku observed, poking his head through the partially opened gate. What he saw were rows of houses surrounded by an absolutely desolate looking landscape, the huge, ominous temple looming over it all. The architecture looked very old and out of place compared to the rest of Satan City. "And this is where those odd people went."

"Thank you for staing the obvious Kakarot." Vegeta snapped.

"You're welcome." Goku replied with a goofy grin. Vegeta just growled in perturbance.

"This place doesn't look very habitable, for most living creatures anyway." Gohan noted.

"It's a city of the dead mostly. You're not going to find very many living things in there." Piccolo informed as he landed in between the three. "Most of those houses aren't fit for anyone to live in."

"Mr. Piccolo, how long have youbeen here?" Gohan greeted.

"Long enough to figure out what the three of you are up to, and I want in." Piccolo replied. "I'm curious about this City of the Dead myself."

"I thought that's what these symbols on the sign above the gates indicated but it's in a language that's not in any of the modern linguistics book I've read. It looks far more ancient, a dead language that hasn't been used for millenniums so to speak."

"I didn't need to read any symbols to figure that all out. My ears can hear more sounds than yours. Sure there are living people in there but there's also a lot of pretty angry spirits in there too. I can hear them loud and clear right now." Piccolo said, his eyes squinting at all the terrible voices cursing them in their harsh, whispery timbre.

"I can see them Mr. Piccolo and they look really angry with us. Just who do you think they could have been in life?" Gohan asked.

"If I had a guess I'll bet they're the angry souls of warriors from ancient battles that have been forgotten, and being forgotten has made them really angry with the living." Goku butted in.

"Sometimes you really do amaze me when you have something intelligent to say Kakarot." Vegeta marveled.

"There's a lot of very evil energy in there too." Goku said with a serious voice.

"We're going to that temple to check it out up close." Vegeta said more as a statement than a request. "Whatever brought Vidahlia here must be in that temple. I'll bet my life on it."

"In the vicinity of a place like this you might want tobe careful saying something like that out loud." Piccolo cautioned. "Come on then. I don't want to hang around here any longer than I have to."

"I agree with Piccolo. This place is really creepy." Goku said shivering with fright as they walked through the gates into the City of the Dead. Every house he looked at he thought he saw black shadows moving about inside trying to get a glimpse of the living entities that had entered their domain. Goku gulped in fear and hid behind the tall Namekian.

"Will you stop that Kakarot." Vegeta spat as they walked up the steps towards the temple. The wooden planks that acted as a stairway were warped and rotting so he had to step gingerly on each gray plank he put his foot on.

"Not a very well kept place." Gohan noted as they reached the top of the stairway to the temple. The door inside the temple itself was closed tight in an unreceptive manner. "Or a very welcoming one as well."

"The temple is closed. Why are you here?" Everyone looked behind them to see the priestess from the marketplace had seemingly materialized behind them.

"Most temples in this city welcome their guests at any time of the day." Piccolo replied.

"Unless you are a lost soul you are not invited in here." she replied aggressively. "Besides, we have chosen to be closed during your Festival of Light."

"We were just interested in what you had been saying in the marketplace earlier." Vegeta said.

"How can I speak to you with even more clarity that your world is doomed?" The lost souls who inhabit this city have foreseen it." the priestess scoffed.

"With an agent of the Omni King Zeno here your lost souls' prophecy might find it it difficult to fulfill itself." Vegeta challenged.

The priestess laughed. "Ah yes, that woman in the square holding that blue haired baby. We know she serves that false God. Not even she is a match for our true God and master."

"I've heard Zeno referred to as a false God before when I was challenged by those shadows last night. It was actually the lost souls in my home wasn't it?" Goku piped up.

"Dad, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Gohan interrupted.

"Indeed it was our lost souls trying to get you to see the folly in following a false God." the priestess said with great interest. "It would be best to heed their warning. A war in the heavens is imminent. Choose your side wisely."

"Are you scaring away our visitors again Lamia?" the voice of a pleasant old man said as he spoke from the now open doors of the temple. "You'll have to forgive the zeal of my priestess. She takes tending to the souls of the lost very seriously." he said with a warm smile. "If you would like a tour of th temple by all means follow me."

"Well, what are all of you waiting for?" Vegeta said following the old man. He was followed by Piccolo, then Goku and Gohan.

They entered an interior that was in stark contrast to the outside. Everything felt as though they had walked into a dream state, everything seeming to be unreal, like stepping into another dimension. The octagonal room they were in was comprised of basalt stone columns, tapestries depicting various representations of death lining the walls in between each column. The wood floor was lined with polished ebony reflecting the red candles on their posts, the room's only illumination. "Here in this place we celebrate all concepts of death, but not as a morbid fascination. We worship it as a necessary function of life. We do this as a means of helping all the lost souls find their way into the afterlife. This temple and this city function as a sanctuary for lost souls until they have accepted they are no longer living and must move on to the next dimension." the priest stated, his voice echoing in the room.

"You mean to tell us you all you are doing is taking care of the souls of the people who have died here on Earth but don't want to leave?" Goku asked. "I've been to the afterlife a couple of times myself and it doesn't seem that bad."

"You have to understand, some of these souls weren't very good people in life and they don't want to go to Hell so they stay here." the old man replied. "And now that you have been inside the city and have seen the temple with your own eyes has your curiosity been satiated?"

"But what about your priestess and all her words about the death of all light on Earth?" Gohan piped up.

"Again I tell you she's just overzealous in her duties to the dead. They love playing tricks on mortals." the old man replied with a chuckle.

"How do you explain that female follower of yours with the mask and black clothes that attacked me last night outside of your gates?" Vegeta grilled in an accusatory fashion.

The old man looked perplexed at what Vegeta had said. "I'm sorry but I have no idea who this person is you speak of. We priests and priestesses only dress in white robes, no masks or dark clothing. And we most certainly do not train our followers to be assasins nor are we possessed of supernatural powers other than communicating with the dead."

Vegeta was thoroughly unhappy with the old man's explanation. "I swear to you I saw her come in here after Vidahlia stopped her. I am not a liar. This has been a complete waste of my time just to get no satisfying explanations at all." he fumed as he stormed out of the temple.

"You'll have to forgive our friend. He's just like that." Gohan said apologetically.

"Thanks for letting us see your temple anyway." Goku added. "I guess we should be getting back to the ladies." Piccolo just grunted as he followed Goku and Gohan out of the temple.

"You know, you're very lucky going in there and not becoming a permanent resident of that place yourselves." Beerus grumbled grumpily.

"I assume that you didn't find the answers you were seeking in there?" Whis calmly inquired as Vegeta came storming out of the gates to the City of the Dead followed by Goku, Gohan and Piccolo. "Would it satisfy you to know that our own investigation concerning our lady's presence here has turned up fruitless as well? Lord Beerus is a bit angry over his time being wasted as well."

"So just how are we going to find out just what we're up against if all we've gotten are predictions from the dead about an all consuming darkness covering the Earth and a war in the heavens." Vegeta asked.

"Oh, that's far more useful information than we were able to obtain. A war in the heavenbs you say?" Whis remarked in a contemplative tone of voice.

"Don't forget about how that priestess and the lost souls that visited me last night called Zeno a false God too." Goku interjected.

"Blasphemous disrespect of the Omni King?" Beerus said incredulously. "I wonder what kind of beings in all twelve of the universes would be this bold knowing the extent of Lord Zeno's powers?" he ruminated out loud.

"The only beings that would have the audacity to defame the Omni King would have to be beings of similar power, but to even entertain the notion that there are ancient Gods who still exist...the implication is too horrible to contemplate." Whis said with a far off gaze. "I believe our Lady Vidahlia is the piece of the puzzle we seek to solve this mystery, but it requires me to do something quite frowned upon and stretches the boundaries of what I am approved to do. We need to find out exactly who Lady Vidahlia is, how a Saiyan was bestowed the powers she posseses."

"How do you propose we get that information? She's not going to just give up that information easily, especially if she's here in secret." Piccolo stated.

"All I would need are a few of her personal possessions. My staff can do the rest." Whis replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Vegeta stated. "We have a small window of opportunity right now while she's with Bulma."

"I'll buy you as much time as I can." Gohan volunteered. "You can fill me in later." he added before heading back to the festival area.


End file.
